This invention relates to cooking equipment for food products. More specifically, this invention relates to rotisseries in which carcasses of chickens or other meats are rotatively and sequentially exposed to a source of heat.
The popularity and success of so-called "fast food" service establishments has created a demand for new types of food preparation appliances which can be operated by individuals with no particular culinary skills, but which yet can yield food products of high and consistent quality. Conventional rotisseries used in the cooking of chicken carcasses and other meats have traditionally used a relatively low-heat and long-period process to guarantee an even and thorough cooking without flame charring. These conventional rotisseries are ill-adapted to the "fast food" industry which cannot tolerate long delays in cooking. Raising the cooking temperature may expedite the process, but results in uneven cooking and sometime burning of the meat surface. These problems may be partly palliated by using thinner cuts of meat. But this solution is not available when large cuts such as carcasses of chickens or other fowls must be cooked whole.
Accordingly, there has been a reed for an improvement in the design and operation of rotisseries which would assure a rapid and even cooking of large cuts of meat without requiring attentive supervision or particularly skilled operators.
There is also a need for cooking appliances that are sturdy, easy to operate and to maintain. It is also desirable that such a cooking appliance include the facilities for conducting ancillary activities such as the dressing of the meats.